Prep School
by Qibli03
Summary: Nick's years in Prep School- Rated M for light drug use joints


The bell rang once again, signaling the end of a period. The blond boy sitting at the back right corner of the classroom gathered his books and walked out to the next room, where he chose to sit, again, at the back right corner. He was not into social life and that corner, dark and forgotten, was the best place not to be noticed and bothered.

Not that his school-friends had any intention to bother him. He did not attract people. He was withdrawn, and ever since he had joined that school, he had made it clear he had come to be on the top. After a week he was already in the top 5 students, and, as a new kid, that did not attract friendship. The other boys though of him as an arrogant boy, that took pleasure into beating others.

The truth was that Nick was the saddest boy in the world. In less than ten months he had lost both his beloved mother, who had died of cancer right in front of him, and his loathed father, who had left him alone in front of his mum and then had sent him away to that awful boarding school, Phelps School in Connecticut. The hurt he felt was unbearable and occupied every single second he had free. So he dived into studying. He did not want anything to do with people. When you trusted people, they stabbed your into your back. So he avoided social life all together. He stayed in his room for most of his free time and carefully avoided any team sport. Had he been in a different school, teachers would have been on his back for his behavior, but there, at prep school, all they cared was good grades.

Nicholas Fallin's grades were not good. They were great. Getting a 90% would mean he had done rather poorly. Nicholas found out that being the best in his year gave him pleasure, even some pale imitation of happiness. He did not care if his inmates, as he used to call them, envied him. The important thing was that his pain would go away for some instants, and his father would be notified and would be proud of him. His school grades and his success were nearly the only thing the two guys talked about over the phone. And Burton never failed to tell his son he was happy with him and that he expected to go on like that.

The other topic was sports. Burton wanted his son to take some sports. What he meant was baseball, or maybe football. Nick, however, was not interested into teams, but, as he wanted to please his dad, and he craved to deserve his appreciation, he signed in for swimming. After all, being immersed in water daily gave him one more chance to engage into something that kept him away from other students. Loops after loops, he pushed away water, anger and sorrow.

Gradually Nicholas opened up a little bit and by the end of the first half term he had a few people he talked to. None of them liked that school very much. Michael came from Miami. Vermont's weather alone would have put him off, but he also missed his long lazy days on the beach. He was not very interested into school and his grades were just above the pass line. Emanuele had been raised in Switzerland, but he only dreamed of going to Italy, where his family originally came from. He was expected by his mother to do the well, but he was not extremely bright and did struggle to get to satisfactory grades. Sometimes Nick helped him study, but as Nick had never had trouble grasping concepts the very first time, he found Emanuele's need to go over and over and over the same material extremely frustrating. Samuel was rather anxious. Nicholas could relate to that, but he was much better at hiding his true feelings than Sam was. He would sweat, he got terrible headaches, and even stuttered when he was questioned by one of the teachers. And yet, he was very kind and helpful. It was Sam that had come to Nicholas in the first place, when everyone else loathed him. He had showed Nicholas around the school and shared important teacher information with him. Besides, Sam's mom always sent him huge boxes of treats and he always shared them.

Being with other people taught Nicholas an important lesson.

Michael was the son of an extremely wealthy Miami family. Mike did not know how his money had been made, he only knew he was swimming in it. At 13 he already owned two Ferraris and his very own private island. He lived in a huge mansion with so many people serving him and his family he could not count. Emanuele, was the only heir of the exiled Italian royal family. Though they had been stripped off some of their wealth when Italy had chosen to become a Republic, they were still one of the richest families in Europe. Mansions and palaces had been his dwellings, and his nannies had always come from the famous London school of nannies. Samuel and his older sister, who attended a different boarding school, was the heir of a wealthy Chicago dynasty and had been pampered in a palace since his birth. Nick soon realized that, though he had seen himself as a privileged boy, he was the only kid in the eighth grade whose tuition was the result of hard personal work. At Winchester Thurnston, the prep school he had attended since kindergarten in Pittsburgh, most of the kids came from wealthy professionals' families: doctors, lawyers, CEOs, and the like. Here, among dynasties, top company owners and top notch politicians, Nicholas Fallin was the poor guy! Though he still profoundly disliked the school, he pretty well realized that sending his son to that school was a huge sacrifice for his dad and, unlike the others, he felt compelled to do well. After all, he had to admit that going to that school alone would grant him a place in one of the ivy league colleges in the future.

Even if school time was indeed busy, unfortunately he still had more free time than most of his friends. He was really smart and needed very little study time to achieve top grades, compared to other students, besides he did not attend secret, forbidden parties other students held in their rooms because he knew what the consequences were had he been caught in one of them. He could not imagine going back to his father's after being expelled. That free time, when he was alone in his room or somewhere in the fields surrounding the school, was the time Nick dreaded. He would think about his life and he missed his mother and father. He was still very angry at him for being sent away but he often caught himself thinking about mistakes he had made. He must have done something to force his father to send him away. How could his father be happy to be alone in that huge house of his? At night when Mike, his room mate, was asleep he would quietly look at his mom's pictures and cry.

As the years passed, school became more and more difficult, and Nicholas had less and less time to be alone. Besides, his friendships had become stronger and more kids had joined his circle. Most of the students in his year had come to appreciate Nick for what he truly was, ad did not blame him for being at the top any more. Being far from his dad had also reduced his need to act responsible 100% of his time at the school, and he now attended some of the parties. They were not that wild either. Most of the times the boys told dirty stories, talked about politics and drank soft drinks. A few times there had been beer, which Nicholas had drunk even though, at first, he had strongly disliked its bitter taste, but most of the times they just drank soft drinks, which were unwelcome items too. The real thrill was when joints could be found. Nicholas loved them. The others would smoke for the mere pleasure. He had soon found out that a smoke would kill all of the pain he had inside. For a few hours he was just like everybody else. A teen having fun. Besides, no one could detect you had used. If you were in control and did not smoke more than a joint, the next day you were your normal self. The only one who really risked something was the students offering their room, as they had to sleep with their windows open to cancel the drug's smell. In cold nights that was pretty tough, but definitely worth it.

Eventually, his senior year came and with it came the big decision. What college should Nick apply for? Burton, Nick's father, had been quite clear. He should go for the Ivy League. Nick would not have minded attending Pitt, as his dad had, but no son of Burton Fallin would have avoided going to an Ivy League school. The reason behind Nicholas's fondness for Pitt were two mainly. He still had not got over his being sent to boarding school. He still longed for some time spent with his dad, and he thought that he could have stayed home as he attended Pitt. The second reason was that Nick felt guilty for all the money his dad had spewed on his education, and did not want his law school to be too costly. Because the matter was Nick's Alma Mater, not the school he would attend. It went without saying that Nick would follow his dad's footsteps. Nick had always dreamed of being like his dad, and, though still angry for being sent away, that dream was still pretty much alive. He would go to law school and then he would work for his dad's firm.

So, Nicholas Fallin's application was sent to Columbia, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Yale and, better be safe than sorry, Pitt. Focusing on his school work Nick did not bother too much about his applications. Burton did. He gingerly opened the mailbox every day, afraid it might explode. He knew Nicholas was smart and a top achiever, but he also knew the acceptance rates of those ivy league colleges were not even in the double digit area. So, when he was called to the telephone area, Nicholas heard a huge excitement in his father's voice. – Son, you've been accepted at Harvard, Pinceton and Yale!

Graduation day came. Nicholas was kind of nervous. He had unsurprisingly been chosen as the valedictorian, and, as all of his 'inmates' were busy having fun and being silly, he was going over his speech. He had never been happy in that school, well joint smoking excluded, but he was grateful. He had had a great education so far, and it was thanks to the school he had been accepted to three ivy league colleges and was headed to Harvard. So, when he took his stand and started talking, he told about the great teachers, how they had been an important font of inspiration for all the students. He also thanked the school for teaching students how to be responsible for themselves, just being away from home. He smiled as he reminded everyone as students in regular school were probably reminded to do their homework by their parent, or to put clothes in the laundry basket. Also, as he lowered his eyes onto his notes, he thanked the parents, who had granted their children the privilege of being in such a glorious school. And then, the ceremony was over and Nick found himself in a tight hug of a very proud father. He fought hard not to let the tears that had filled up his eyes fall, but the emotion of having made his dad so proud, of having achieved his main goal was too much. He only hoped his dad would not notice.

It was late when Nick walked down the school's corridor for the last time. His father, who was keeping his left hand on Nick's shoulder, was talking about the gift he had given his son for his graduation: a trip across Europe for two, with the idea he could take anyone he wanted. Nick was not listening. He felt proud of his achievement and he could feel his dad was proud too, and, after all, booking two months abroad for two young men had probably cost Burton a lot of Nicholas could not avoid feeling rejected once again. In two months he would go to Harvard, he would go away again and for good. After college he would be an adult and those two months were the last chance for him and Burton to be together. Why did not his father want to spend some time with him? What had he done not to deserve his father's love? Maybe, if he had not been so loyal to his mom during the divorce…. But it was Burton who had walked away, leaving Anne alone. He had had to be loyal to her, she had been deeply damaged. Looking at his shoes Nicholas found the courage to tell his dad he would have liked to go to Europe with him, but Burton laughed. 'Don't be ridiculous, Nicholas. I have to work. I just can't leave the firm unattended for two months. And remember you're going to Harvard and I'm paying for it. Besides, you do not want an old guy tagging along: I'm becoming slow and I need to get early bedtimes. Go with a friend and have fun.'

As they boarded the taxi, Nick had to swallow a few times before finding a firm enough voice to thank his dad for his gift. Looking out of the car windows, he felt gloomy. He had done everything to please his father, and yet he had not achieved anything. He was still lonely and as the lines of the school buildings faded he took a big decision: after he graduated from law school, he would go and work for a very different firm. Fallin and Associates could do without him. His dad could do without him. And he could do without his dad. The fact that he felt a strong desire for a joint did not strike him as a clear indication he was telling himself the biggest lie he had ever told.


End file.
